New York City’s Holiday House Designer Showcase

Designers turn their talents to special occasions at New York City’s Holiday House showhouse

Slide 1 Of New York City’s Holiday House Designer Showcase

Eric Striffler

Encouraging creative minds to break out of their typical mold, New York City’s Holiday House Designer Showcase gives visitors a fresh take on favorite stylemakers. The festive event is unique in that designers must designate a special occasion or holiday as the theme for their spaces. The result: a spectacular display of impeccably designed interiors by leaders in the industry.

The annual showhouse, with proceeds that benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, is fast becoming a seasonal tradition in Manhattan, a sweet treat for lovers of imaginative design.

Inspired by The Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s iconic pink ribbon, Charlotte Moss designed a bedroom in honor of a former employee and friend who lost her battle with the disease earlier in the year. “This room is an homage to her and a reminder that every single day is a day to celebrate,” explains Moss.

Because the space was so sprawling, it was treated as a studio apartment, complete with various living areas for different purposes. Walls painted in an off-white semigloss from Pratt & Lambert let colorful floral-motif fabrics and an eclectic mix of modern artwork and fashion photography do the talking. Blessed with great bones, the bedroom features five large windows—each dressed in matchstick blinds and blue-striped draperies from the designer’s own collection for Fabricut.

The canopy bed, complete with curtains and upholstered footboard, is fit for a princess. Across the room, a pair of vintage chairs in bright red leather flank the black fireplace. Forming a fancy sitting area are a lounge chair with matching ottoman and a blue-patterned slipper chair, both designed by Moss for Century Furniture. Overhead, a custom basket-weave chandelier adds interest and extra charm.

With Marcel Proust’s A Remembrance of Things Past as his inspiration, Geoffrey Bradfield aimed to create a space conveying a sense of nostalgia for an age gone by. “I wanted guests to experience a journey, an erudite tour through the history of fine and decorative arts,” says the designer of his exquisite black-and-white salon. The white-lacquered coffee table plays host to two swan-shaped vessels that reference the notable novel. In addition to Proust, the interior also features the likenesses of Dr. Samuel Jean Pozzi, Vita Sackville-West, Sir Philip Sassoon, George Vanderbilt, and John Singer Sargent’s Madame X—some appearing as part of the whimsical custom-designed wallcovering on the back wall. According to Bradfield, the incorporation of emerald green—as seen on the pair of oil paintings—suggests the fruition of new thought and the never-ending cycle of renewal and evolution.

Continuing the allusions to various aesthetic periods embodied by prominent personalities of the day, a series of plaster busts, including ones of Louis XV and Princess Marie Louise of Savoy, are purposefully scattered throughout the room.

With a 15-foot-long midcentury table cast in resin-urethane as his centerpiece, Inson Dubois Wood created a lavish dining room of a Carnevale-like setting. “My muse was Daphne Guinness as seen through the lens of Steven Klein and designed by Alexander McQueen,” he says. Instead of suspending the diamond-cut crystal chandelier from the ceiling, the designer arranged it like a candelabra atop the table. Antique mask molds from Venice adorn the mantel.

“I wanted guests to experience their own spirituality,” says designer Stephanie Odegard. To induce an inspiring atmosphere, she reproduced a private Tibetan-themed meditation room. Reminiscent of a typical monastery in Tibet, the ceiling is painted rich red and gold and punctuated by a stunning wood-and-silk chandelier. Handmade Khadi fabric panels from India line the walls, while a traditional tiger-stripe carpet in vegetable-dyed wool decorates the floor. A 200-year-old Tibetan trunk from Odegard’s own collection plays host to butter sculptures, which were offered to the deities and used in meditation. A Gandara Buddha bust and an authentic sand mandala tie it all together.

Sheer curtains and crisp white walls team with cool blue-gray fabrics and a cowhide area rug to create a room with a winter-wonderland feel. Add a touch of sparkle—the stunning Baccarat chandelier overhead—and this elegant bedroom becomes a serene escape, as if one is living in a Swedish winter dream. That is the exact aura designer Vicente Wolf wanted to achieve. “The moment I walked into the space, I saw the vision and knew what I wanted to create,” he explains. Why Swedish, you ask? “Swedish rooms always have a sense of lightness and simplicity,” Wolf says. Modest accessories, like the Thai ceramic vases atop the blue antique bedside table, stick to this minimalist theme.

The custom bed is Wolf’s favorite. “It combines attributes of a wing chair and a modern platform bed,” he says. A contrasting Chinese folding screen adds detail but doesn’t distract from the rest of the room. Stealing the show is a massive 18th-century French Louis XVI mirror. Its large scale artfully alters the perspective of the room.

A steel Chinese chair sits poised and pretty at the marble-topped desk. Both pieces are from the designer’s own collection. An ivy topiary resembling a Christmas tree reminds guests the holidays are near.

A holiday acknowledged—but not necessarily celebrated—is the inspiration for this octagonal space, with its four doors, two windows, and a fireplace. “The theme allowed me to construct a room with a sense of history, spanning centuries through furniture and antique selections,” Schermerhorn notes.

A gray-blue grass-cloth wallcovering by Holland & Sherry provides depth while plaid mohair draperies, a goatskin screen, and a bold blue area rug inject pattern. “The rug is based on a line drawing that reminded us of the female figure and flowers,” she explains. The daybed—designed by Dineen—features organic wool upholstery and is accented by plush pillows. An antique bronze sculpture and a Keyhole Cutie etching sit pretty atop a fractured-resin side table. Above, an intricate honeycomb-like light fixture draws the eye.

If a modern-day Marie Antoinette hosted a holiday luncheon, it would look like this. “The sexy color scheme and playful mix of traditional and romantic pieces with contemporary items speak to today’s woman: strong and independent, yet ladylike and alluring,” says designer Tricia Huntley. The luxurious lounge includes two leather-upholstered sectional sofas where guests can mingle while the meal is prepared.